Underground current supply for electric railways



'(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. EAST.

UNDERGROUND CURRENT SUPPLY FOR ELEGTRIO RAILWAYS.

No. 552,001. Patented De0.24,1895

33mm aflozncu Z I QR W 14mm (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. RAST. UNDERGROUND CURRENT SUPPLY FOR ELEGTRIGRAILWAYS.

No. 552,Q01. Patented Dec. 24, 1895.

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PATENT AUGUST EAST, OF NUREMBERG, GERMANY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,001, dated December 24, 1895. Application filed March 29,1894. Serial No. 505,588. (No model.) Patented in Germany October 24, 1893, No. 74,641.

To all, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, AUGUST RAsr, mechanician, a subject of the German En1peror,residing at Nuremberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Underground-Current Supplies for Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification, (and for which Letters Patent No. 74,641, dated October 24, 1893, were granted me in Germany.)

This invention has for its object an improved means of underground-current supplies for electric street-railways. It is applicable to any kind of electric railway in which the supply of the current takes place by means of an underground conductor in such a way that the current is supplied to a center rail, consisting of insulated sections, and is taken therefrom at any point where the car may be at the moment by means of friction-brushes, and then fio ws through the motor and returns to the dynamo through the ordinary rails of the permanent way. The main disadvantage of similar arrangements hitherto employed consists in the openings which exist between the sections of the center rail and its insulators, by means of which water can penetrate to the underground conducting mechanism, thus causing the formation of rust and shortcircuiting.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is alongitudinal section of the improved device; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of a modification of same; Fig. 3, a cross-section of the track with diagram, showing the flow of the current.

This improved device, as shown in Fig. 1, consists of a center'rail in sectionsa a o insulated one from another, with each of which a fully-closed box I) is connected in such a way as to be water-tight. An electromagnetic apparatus is contained in this box, and is connected with the main conductor by means of a supply-Wire cl, which is Water-tightly inserted into the box. The electromagnet consists of a metallic bobbin f, the wire coil 6 of which forms a continuation of the supplywire cl. The armature of this electromagnet consists of an iron core h vertically supported in the bobbin f, which core carries at its upper end a metal brush v1, curved with its two ends upward, which is connected with the fixed coil 6 by means of a flexible connection 7c. Between the upwardly-curved arms 2" and i of this brush or circuit-closer i a piece of iron h in the form of a screw-head or nut or the like is fastened. On the under side of the motor-carriage there are arranged a permanent magnet p and a contact-brush q, and these slide, together with the carriage, over the center-rail sections a a a If then the carriage passes over the closed box I), the head-piece or armature h of the core of the electromagnet is attracted by the said permanent magnet 19, and the armature with the core h is immediately raised in such a way that a flexible connection is established between its metal brush '5 and the section a of the center rail. In the meantime, the contactbrush of the motor has also come onto the same section. As the brush a of the armature is connected by means of a flexible connection 70, as aforesaid,with the supply-wire d, and thereby with the main conductor 0, the main circuit is thus closed, and current flows through the coil e of the electromagnet f and causes the iron core h of the latter and its metal brush 2' to press firmly against the section a. The main current, therefore, as shown in Fig. 3, flows from the main conductor 0 into the box I) to the magnet-coil e, thence through the flexible connection 7c and armature-brush z to the section a of the center rail,and from there through the motor-brush q and conductor 0" to the motor 3, and from there through the wire 25, the brushes a and the motor-wheels c to the rails as of the permanent way, and thenceby a conductor w back to the dynamo y.

WVhen the motor-carriage has passed over the section a, the core 72 of the electromagnet drops back into its normal or non-working position, While the process hereinbefore described is repeated at the next section and the current-supply connected therewith, so that the current is only exposed at each section of the center rail over which the motorcarriage is at the moment passing.

In order to facilitate the raising of the ar-- mature of the'core h by means of the permanent magnet 19 of the motor, the former is seated on a spring 23, which tends to press the armature upward, by means of which the lifting of the latter is considerablyfacilitated.

The armature may also be counterbalanced or assisted in its movement by other suitable means than the spring 15.

In order to produce easily and certainly the raising of the armature and its core h, the device may also be arranged as shown in Fig. 2. The bobbin f of the electromagnet is provided with two wire coils e and g. The outer coil (2 forms the continuation of the supplywire d, while the inner coil g is made of thin wire and is connected with a relay. This relay is formed of an iron bar Z vertically held in an insulating-support, and the lower end of this bar is connected with the supply-Wire C1 by means of athin spring conductor m, and is further provided with contact-pieces n and o capable of making contact with the wire g leading to the thin coil of the electromagnetf.

This device works in the following manner: If the motor-carriage with its permanent magnet 19 passes over the relay in the closed box Z), the small iron bar Z of the relay is raised by the magnet 19, thereby closing the contacts at and 0, and a weak shunt-current passes from the conductor through the thin wire 0% to the inner coil g of the electromagnet fand out to the main conductor by a suitable connection z. This at once raises the armature in such a Way that an electrical contact is es tablished between the metal brush 2' of the same and the section a of the center rail.

I declare that what I claim is 1. The combination, with each feed section and its box I), of a main conductor 0, a section-supply conductor d, an electro-magnet in the box 12, with whose coil ethe conductor (Z is connected, and a movable core h in said magnet carrying a contact-piece connected with said coil 6 to make contact with the feed section, whereby when the contact piece on the core h is brought into contact with the feed section, the main current will run through the contact-piece to the feed section and strongly hold the said contact piece in contact therewith.

.2. The combination, with each feed section and its box I), of a main conductor 0, a section-supply conductor d, an electro magnet in the box 17 with whose coil 6 the conductor cl is connected, a movable core h in said magnet and a contact-piece on the core h consisting of a spring to make yielding contact with the feed-section and connected with the coil 6 of said magnet.

3. The combination, with each feed section, and its box I), of a main conductor 0, a section supply conductor (1, a bobbin f in the box I), a magnetic coil 6 on said bobbin connected with the section-conductor (1, another magnetic coil g around the bobbin 'f to be connected by a relay with the main-conductor c, and a core in the bobbin f, carrying a contact-piece connected with the coil 6 and adapted to make contact with the feed sec tion.

4C. The combination with a box I) secured below each section of a center rail, and containing an electro magnet f having a movable core h bearing a contact brush 7; connected with the coil 6 of the said magnet of a relay device comprising a coil 9 on the said magnet, and an iron bar Z movable in an insulated support below the center rail and having suitable contact pieces 41 and o and connections g and m, whereby the coil 9 is placed in shunt circuit with the main conductor when the said bar Z is attracted by a magnet on the motor carriage substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUST RAST.

Witnesses:

OSCAR 1300K, ANDREWS SLIcY. 

